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The area by Imola is home to several racing car manufacturers, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati. Following the Second World War, the town started a project to improve the local economy. Four local motor racing fans suggested building a new road. The road would link together existing public roads. These road were used by the local car manufacturers to test their new car designs. Construction began in March 1950. The first test run took place two years later when Enzo Ferrari sent a car to the track.

In April 1953, the first motorcycle races took place at Imola, and the first car race took place in June 1954. In April 1963, the first race with Formula One cars took place at Imola. It was a non-championship event, and was won by Jim Clark for Lotus. An additional non-championship event took place at Imola in 1979. This race was won by Niki Lauda for Brabham-Alfa Romeo.

During the Friday practice, Rubens Barrichello hit the fence at the Variante Bassa. It was a very hard crash and he was knocked unconscious for a few minutes.

During the qualifying session on Saturday, Roland Ratzenberger crashed at the Villeneuve Corner. On the lap before he crashed, Roland went over a kerb too quickly which damaged his front wing. This caused his front wing to fail at 190mph, causing him to go into the concrete wall. He hit a concrete barrier wall almost head-on and was received a very bad head injury. He was taken to the hospital, but died from injuries.

In the race on Sunday, Ayrton Senna hit a concrete wall at the high-speed Tamburello Corner. Senna suffered severe head injuries. After he was removed from the car he was air lifted to hospital. He died in hospital after his life support was turned off because it was the only thing keeping him alive. It is still not clear today what caused Senna's crash. The car was too damaged to analyse what caused the crash. For the 1995 race, the Tamburello and Villeneuve corners were changed. They became slower chicanes. The Variante Bassa was also straightened. These crashes started changes at other Formula One circuits. Changes were made to make the sport safer.

Teams had complained about the poor quality of the facilities (buildings and work areas) at Imola. San Marino Grand Prix was dropped from the Formula One championship after 2006. Part of the reason for dropping San Marino was there was another grand prix held in Italy.[1]